The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Summary: BBC Television production of Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.
Theatre play: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial by Herman Wouk [more information]
Play synopsis: The action takes place in the General Court-Martial Room of the 12th Naval District, San Francisco in February 1945 and concerns an alleged mutiny aboard the USS Caine, a minesweeper in the Pacific. It begins with Willis Keith’s assignment to the Caine, chronicles the mismanagement of the ship under Philip Francis Queeg, explains how Steve Maryk relieved Queeg of command, gives an account of Maryk’s court-martial, and describes the aftermath of the mutiny for all involved. The play covers only the court-martial itself. Like jurors at a trial, the audience knows only what various witnesses tell it of the events on the Caine.
Production history: Caine adapted this two-act play from his own novel The Caine Mutiny. ‘The play was first presented by Paul Gregory in the Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara, California, on October 12, 1953 and then went on tour across the United States before being given its first performance on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on 20 January 1954 in a production directed by Charles Laughton’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caine_Mutiny_Court-Martial).
Date of transmission: Sunday 1 June 1958
Time: 8.30pm
Series: Sunday-Night Theatre
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Alvin Rakoff

Playwright

Herman Wouk

Adaptor of Script

Alvin Rakoff

Designer

John Cooper

Cast

Sheldon Allan	a minor part
Reginald Atkinson	a minor part
Peter Boretski	a minor part
David Brierley	a minor part
Michael Caine	Court Orderly
John Cater	a minor part
Sally Corday	a minor part
Paul Douglas	Lt. Com. Philip Francis Queeg
Phil Mansel Durham	a minor part
Martin Friend	a minor part
Robert Gallico	Dr Bird
David Gardner	Lt. (Jr. Grade) Willis Seward Keith
Janet Hicks	a minor part
Kim Johnson	a minor part
Sheldon Lawrence	Charge Officer
Richard Leech	Lt. Com. John Challee
John Longden	Captain Blakely
Vivian Matalon	Signalman Third Class Junius Urban
Patrick Milner	a minor part
Danny Moynihan	Court Orderly
Derek Murcott	a minor part
Henry Soskin	a minor part
Warren Stanhope	Lt. Thomas Keefer
Nigel Stock	Lt. Stephen Maryk
Wiliam Sylvester	Lt. Barney Greenwald
Bernelle Tucker	a minor part
Kenneth Warren	Stenographer
Jerold Wells	Captain Randolph Southard
Ian White	a minor part
John Wilding	a minor part
Martin Wyldeck	Dr Forest Lundeen

Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: American drama; court-room drama; military / army / navy / air-force

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British Universities Film & Video Council